The University at Albany has expelled two black female students and suspended a third for lying about being victims of a hate crime.

Ariel Agudio and Asha Burwell were expelled from the university and Alexis Briggs has been suspended for two years, according to an email sent to the school community Thursday by President Robert J. Jones, the Albany Times Unionreported.

The three women claimed that a group of white men called them racial slurs on a public bus on Jan. 30. But according to video footage, they were the aggressors in the attack, and attacked a 19-year-old white woman who was also a bus passenger.

The three women were indicted by a grand jury and arraigned for 10 misdemeanor charges, including assault, attempted assault and false reporting, along with a violation for harassment. They have pleaded not guilty.